TOKYO: Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan expanded by 48.1 percent from a year earlier to JPY 31.6 billion (USD 288 million) in July, up for the seventh month, thanks to robust exports, the Japanese Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan increased 28.1 percent year-on-year to JPY 42.8 billion (USD 389 million) for the seventh consecutive month of growth, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Imports from Japan slid 7.3 percent to JPY 11.1 billion (USD 101 million) for the second straight monthly fall. As a result, Kuwait maintained monthly black ink with Japan for nine years and six months, it said.
Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan grew 27.0 percent to JPY 459.6 billion (USD 4.2 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region growing 15.2 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 95.2 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, jumped 14.7 percent. The region’s overall imports from Japan declined 7.8 percent, chiefly due to weak shipments of automobile, machinery, steel and electric equipment.
The world’s third-biggest economy logged a global surplus of JPY 418.8 billion (USD 3.8 billion) in July, marking the second consecutive month of black ink, buoyed by strong demand overseas for large automobiles, auto parts and vessels. Overall exports gained 13.4 percent from the year before, while imports jumped 16.3 percent, with value of LNG soaring 46.8 percent.
